The NASCAR schedule is taking us to Iowa Speedway this weekend and there are only four races left in the regular season. Following Bubba Wallace's win at the Brickyard 400, the NASCAR standings are tightening with only three playoff spots left up for grabs.
Let's dive into our NASCAR predictions for the Iowa Corn 350.
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Joe Gibbs Racing is demonstrating once again why it's one of the two best teams in NASCAR, consistently putting its drivers near the front of the starting grid. Chase Briscoe earned his fifth pole position of the year at the Brickyard 400, giving JGR seven poles on the season. Driving for Stewart Haas Racing in 2024, Briscoe placed sixth in qualifying. This season, he has the second-highest average starting position ( 10.773 ) in the Cup Series. We're predicting that he'll earn his sixth pole of the regular season at Iowa Speedway.
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Ryan Blaney dominated Iowa Speedway in the Cup Series' inaugural race at the track. The No. 12 car started second, took Stage 1, placed fourth in Stage 2, and then went on to beat William Byron by 0.716 seconds for the win. While Team Penske isn't earning many poles this year (two), Blaney has still recorded the third-most stage wins (five) in the Cup Series. Starting from the top five on Sunday afternoon, he'll work his way to the top and secure 10 points, along with another playoff point.
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Ever since returning from the trip to Mexico City, things have largely gone downhill for Ross Chastain. He placed 10th in the Chicago Street Race, but it's his only top-23 finish in the last six races. He wasn't entirely at fault for what happened at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but this car hasn't been right either. The No. 1 has started 19th or worse in five of the last six races. The woes will continue Sunday at Iowa, where Chastain will start outside the top 18 and finish his afternoon outside the top 20.
Related: Winners, Losers from the Brickyard 400, including Ross Chastain
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Early on in the Brickyard 400, it looked like Josh Berry was starting to turn things around. The strategy used by Wood Brothers Racing paid off initially, allowing Berry to move past Bubba Wallace into the top five. However, things spiraled after that and he finished 22nd. He now returns to the track where he finished in the top five in points last season, and his car has shown the speed to qualify well. Berry is going to rebound on Sunday with a top-12 finish and some stage points.
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JGR is going to sweep the stages in the Iowa Corn 350. Denny Hamlin's original car was faster than anyone during qualifying for the Brickyard 400, but a crash in qualifying forced him to the backup. He still worked his way from the back of the field to third-place finishes in Stage 2 and in overtime. Simply put, Hamlin and JGR are executing at an unmatched level right now. It'll result in Hamlin adding to his playoff points total with a Stage 2 victory this coming Sunday.
Related: Denny Hamlin Warns Driver Who Try Specific Move on Him
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Securing a playoff spot and snapping a 100-race winless streak should take an immense amount of mental pressure off Bubba Wallace. Sunday's victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway also showed he can overcome adversity and beat some of the best drivers on a restart with a win on the line. Now, 23XI Racing heads to Iowa Speedway with a car that has clearly showcased top-10 speed over the last two weeks. With some good decision-making by crew chief Charles Denike and key restart position gains by Wallace, the No. 23 car's speed should snag its third consecutive top-10 finish.
Related: Brickyard 400 results, NASCAR stage results
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William Byron hasn't won a race since the Daytona 500, and he has just one top-10 finish—eighth at Sonoma—in the last six races. While he finished 16th on Sunday, he led the field in stage points and was poised to finish in the top three before running out of fuel in double overtime. It's also worth keeping in mind that he boasts a 4.7 average starting position in the last three races. Byron's winless streak is finally going to come to an end on Sunday, with the victory also putting him atop the standings with three races to go in the regular season.
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